Substance Abuse and Eye Health

Abuse is a serious issue, whether it involves physical or mental harm. It is a behavior that can have a profound negative effect on both the victim and the abuser. Abuse is a form of violence that can lead to physical, mental, and emotional scarring. It is important to understand the various forms of abuse and how they can deteriorate a person’s life.

Physical abuse is the most common type of abuse, and it can involve hitting, slapping, punching, or any other form of violence that harms or injures a person physically. To determine if physical abuse is present, a person should look for signs of physical trauma, bruises, or broken bones. Physical abuse can cause long-term physical damage, as well as psychological trauma.

Mental abuse is an act of power and control. It involves hurtful words, name-calling, critical criticism, and other non-physical behaviors. This can gradually chip away at a person’s self-esteem and self-worth, leaving them feeling broken and helpless. Mental abuse can also lead to depression and anxiety, as well as suicidal thoughts or behaviors.

Emotional abuse is another form of abuse that is often overlooked. It involves things such as manipulation, dishonesty, or other actions that are designed to manipulate a person’s feelings. Emotional abuse may cause a person to become withdrawn and isolated, or to experience intrusive thoughts or flashbacks. Staying in an emotionally abusive relationship will also have a negative effect on a person’s self-esteem and emotional wellbeing.

Any type of abuse can have a devastating effect on a person’s health and wellbeing. It can cause physical and psychological trauma, and even lead to long-term damage. Abuse can also hinder a person’s ability to lead a productive life. Victims of abuse may not feel confident enough to pursue a career, develop meaningful relationships, or participate in meaningful activities. They may also feel afraid to tell anyone about the abuse they’ve experienced.

It is important to understand the ways in which abuse can deteriorate a person’s life and take appropriate action to protect oneself and help prevent future incidents of abuse. Those who have experienced abuse should seek professional help to cope with the aftermath and to learn healthier ways to form relationships. Professional counseling or therapy can help victims to gain the emotional and psychological skills needed to overcome the abuse and move forward.

It is also important to recognize when someone is being abusive, and be prepared to intervene appropriately. Educating yourself on the various forms of abuse, the warning signs, and healthy ways to combat abuse can help. If abuse is suspected, it is important to contact a local hotline, such as the National Domestic Violence Hotline, or a local organization that provides support services. All types of abusescar physical, mental, and emotional damage, and can deteriorate a person’s life, but it is possible to heal and move forward.

If you want your eyesight to be sound and healthy even when you are Ninety years, you need to start working from now. There are some things or activities that puts your eyes in a bad shape and makes you resort to seeking treatment for your eyes.

This guide shows you some things that harm your eyes and how you can avoid them

Eye drops

If you use eye drops too much, you are putting your eyes in a bad condition. Even though it looks as if they make your eyes healthy and white, there are risks involved. When you stop using them, the blood vessels dilate because the effect has worn off and your eyes become redder than before.

Too much screen time

We are in a digital age and it might be difficult to control screen time. However, by all means possible, ensure you reduce the time you spend on your phone. Similarly, ensure you avoid reading tiny texts. If you can, increase the fonts so that it would be easier to read.

Frequent rubbing of eyes

You will be surprised to hear that rubbing your eyes frequently is disadvantageous. Even though they itch you, the best is to use a cold compress. When you rub your eyes too hard, the blood vessels positioned under the eyelids can break.

Poor diet

If you do not eat a balanced diet, your eyes are susceptible to being unhealthy. It is vital for you to eat meals rich in Vitamins C, E, omega-3 fatty acids and zinc. You should also include whole grains, nuts, vegetable oils, citrus fruits, leafy greens etc.

In addition, ensure you take enough water to remain hydrated which in turn keeps your eyes properly lubricated.

Poor sleeping habits

If you don’t sleep properly, you will have issues with your eyesight. Sleep deprivation causes several health problems like depression, obesity, reduced immune function and the likes. However, it affects your eyes because you will start to witness symptoms like dry eyes, blurry vision, twitching and a host of others.

It is vital that we do not take our eyes for granted. Unlike other parts of our bodies, not everyone pays good attention to the state of health of our eyes.

With the steps below, you will be able to keep your eyes healthy:

Eat properly

Nothing beats eating well. It would interest you to know that a good eye health begins with what you eat. It is important to take nutrients like Zinc, Vitamins C, Omega-3 fatty acids and a host of others. To get access to these nutrients, you need to take foods rich in Green vegetables.

In addition, you need to eat foods like oily fish, eggs, nuts, salmon, pork, oysters, etc. It is equally important to take fruits like citrus, oranges and the likes.

When you look at the origin of blindness in adults, you will discover it is a long journey. Blindness is a result of diseases like type-2 diabetes and obesity which is the result of a poor diet. To avoid this, it is important to step-up your diet.

Use Sunglasses

When you wear the right pair of glasses, it protects your eyes from the ultraviolet rays of the sun. When the ultraviolet rays is too intense, it increases your chances of getting macular degeneration and cataracts.

Stop Smoking

It is very difficult for people who smoke to have a good eyesight. They also stand the chance of having macular degeneration, cataracts and the likes. If you find it difficult to quit smoking, it is essential to seek help before it damages your eyesight to an irreversible point.

Visit your optician

Even though you feel you don’t have eye problems, it is necessary for you to visit your eye doctor. This is one profound way to protect your eyesight and see at your best. In some cases, an eye examination is all you need to stop a chronic eye problem from developing.

At this point, the individual would be thankful for going for an eye examination.

If we properly take care of our eyes, there are lots of problems which can be avoided. These habits are very easy to practice, but the sad part is, not everyone takes them seriously.

If you want your eye health to be on track, and your vision sharp, there are some measures you need to put in place.

One of such measures is to avoid rubbing your eyes. Our hands are exposed to much dirt, bacteria and dust, and they can be effortlessly transmitted to your eyes when you either rub or touch them.

Therefore, it is advisable for you to evade the act of putting your hands in your eyes for the purpose of infection prevention. If you are already in the habit of regularly putting your hands in your eyes, you need to stop it soonest.

You need to also imbibe the act of washing your hands frequently. This is beneficial in ensuring bacteria is prevented, and you can stop them from entering your eyes by using contact lenses and eyeglasses.

Also, you need to give your eyes protection from the sun. When your eyes are exposed to sunlight and ultraviolet rays, it increases the chances of macular degeneration which could case cornea sunburns.

Hence, asides the fashion statement which your sunglasses come with, they are also offering protection to your eyes.

Staying hydrated is also part of the important practices which is needed for a healthy eyesight. When you take enough water, it is beneficial to the entire wellness of your body, and this includes your eyes. When you are hydrated, your eyes would not be dry.

Smoking is also not good for your eyes. When you smoke, your eyes become susceptible to macular degeneration which comes with age. Asides this, other eye problems like cataract and the likes are likely to occur.

Smoking has the capacity to destroy the optic nerves, which can cause undesirable effects on your vision.

Having a balanced diet is needed for a healthy eye. You need to make sure that your diet contains various foods which are rich in nutrients.

EFFECTS OF SUBSTANCE ADDICTION ON YOUR SIGHT

Excessive use of alcohol and drugs induces many side effects which includes: nausea, changes in mood, aggression, agitation, sleepiness and the likes. All these side effects are strong indication that intoxication is in play. When they occur frequently in an individual, and other changes are observed in some parts of the body such as the eyes, hair, skin, teeth and nose, then it is very clear that alcohol and drugs are being abused.

The change in the conventional colour of the eye and its motion as well, can display intoxication. Eyes which re bloodshot are a strong symptom of intoxication from many drugs and alcohol, and this occurs because there is an expansion of the blood vessels which are present in the eyes.

Other drugs could cause water to drip out of the eyes, or the eyelids could become heavy, and the pupils might experience change in size. As a matter of fact, pupils which have a pinpoint structure show that there is an overdose of opioid use.

When vision damage is in play at the early stage, the brain most times tries to make up for this. However, if the abuse continues for a long time, then medical treatment is needed for the addict, in order to prevent eventual damage of the eyes.

If there are changes in the eye which is as a result of intoxication, there may be measures in place to ensure that it is not obvious. However, having red bloodshot eyes, is a common symptom of being intoxicated with marijuana. Hence, people try to cover this up by using eye drops so that it does not become observable.

Nonetheless, when there is a change in the size of the pupil, and there are changes in the movements of the eye, then it would be hard to hide. When an individual is hooked on addiction for a long period of time, there are strong indications that adverse health problems could set in.

The following points are possible effects of substance abuse on the eyes:

• Macular degeneration which occurs with age
• Cornea damage
• Dry eyes syndrome
• Endophthalmitis
• Glaucoma
• Lesions
• Maculopathy
• Ocular bone damage
• Constant changes in the movement of the eye
• Retinal vascular occlusive disease
• Toxic cataracts

Substance abuse and addiction can affect each and every part of the human body. It can have an impact on vison and the eye sight even to a state of blindness. Although, damage to the eye sight caused by addiction is not something that is commonly thought of.

People are mostly aware of the danger addiction poses on body parts like the heart, liver, lungs kidney. However, it is necessary to know that addiction can cause a damaging effect even to the smallest aspect of the human body.

The eye is a very delicate part of the body and the impact of addiction on it is not a negligible one. There are some signs that shows the damage addiction is causing to the eye such as reddening of the eye, presence of large black holes on the pupils causing partial visibility just to mention a few.

There are some commonly abused drugs that have special negative impact on the health of the eye:

• Cocaine

Cocaine is a rampant drug that is usually abused. A peculiarity of this drug is that the effect of the drug on the eye is not easily noticed. It is usually regarded as an eye anesthetic. However, there are issues such as itching of the eye, scratching and even soreness to the corneal causing severe pain, blurred visions and at the worst case, a permanent loss of sight.

• Heroin

The effect of addiction to heroin on the eye is usually constriction and reduction in the size of the eye pupil. As a result of this, the ability of the pupils to respond to dim light would be lost. Also cases of blurred vision or permanent loss of sight can occur due to shrinking of the blood vessels that feeds the eye.

• Amphetamine

Amphetamine which is usually regarded as a performance enhancing drug can cause redness to the eye or dilation of the eye pupils. This can lead to a reduction in visibility and an increased risk of acute-angle closure glaucoma which is dangerous eye defect that can lead to loss of eye sight.

• Marijuana

Marijuana is known to increase the heart rate, blood pressure and the activity of the nervous system. It has the ability of reducing visual performance and decreases smooth pursuit eye movement which causes a difficulty to read, color blindness and variations in the size of the pupil.

The health of the eye is something that must not be taken with levity and to avoid damage to the eye, it is important you desist from substance abuse. x